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Gujarat Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Gondal
Location | Gondal town in the Rajkot District of Gujarat |
Built by | Third successor of Sawmnarayan Shashtriji Maharaj in 1934 |
Primary deity | Dham, Dhami, Mukta |
Architecture | Vastushastra |
Attraction | Cremation place of one of the first disciple of Swaminarayan |
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha keeps in touch with individuals by its mandirs and discourse centers. These are permanent centers of peace for persons of all age groups, beliefs and backgrounds. There are over 1000 temples and about 3000 centers of reformation spread all across the world. The BAPS Swaminarayan temple in Gondal is one of its kinds. The Akshar deri temple is visited by thousands of devotees every year who have faith that lord will relieve them from pain and sorrow. They perform prayers, offerings for spiritual relief.
This temple is situated in the town Gondal in the Rajkot district of Gujarat. It is a holy place as it is the cremation place of one of the first disciple of Swaminarayan. His name was Aksharbrahma Gunatitanand Swami. He was a true devotee of bhagvan Swaminarayan. The third successor of Swaminarayan Shastriji Maharaj built a beautiful three storied temple above the Akshar Deri in May 1934. It is a wonderful place to visit on Sharad Purnima day.
Significance
Lord Swaminarayan and His paramhansas were regular visitors to Gondal. Their aim was to bathe in the holy waters of River Gondali. The mahant of Junagadh mandir, Gunatitanand Swami was the family guru of the royal family of Gondola. He used to come and preach in the area. Gunatitanand Swami left for his heavenly abode in the process of delivering a lecture while resting against a pillar a beautiful shrine was built by the king of Gondal in the place where the ashes of Gunatitanand Swami were kept in an urn. Since then the shrine is known as Akshar Deri. This sacred memorial soon became a famous pilgrimage place where prayers could be fulfilled.
History
The area around Akshar Deri was administered by an old school for about 65 years. A devout devotee Narayan Maharaj was inspired in his dream by Gunatitanand Swami to build a three tier spiral temple. The land was acquired by Haribhai Amin and given to Shashti Maharaj for the temple. The temple was soon constructed on the shrine of Gunatitanand Swami. The idol of Akshar Purshottam was installed in the Akshar Mandir and the first mahant of the temple was Yogiji Maharaj.
Important Shrines
The most important images in the temple are of - Dham, Dhami, Mukta in the 1st shrine. Guru Parampara in the 2nd shrine, Purushottam and Akshar (Central) in the 3rd shrine, Sukh Shayya in the 4th shrine and Ghanshyam Maharaj in the 5th shrine were placed.
People have witnessed many miracles have taken place in Akshar Deri. It is said that in the process of construction Yogiji Maharaj was bitten by a cobra. Shashtri ji Maharaj asked his saints and devotees to chant the Swaminarayan mantra and offer prayers in the Akshar Deri Temple. This saved the Yogiji Maharaj by diminishing the effect of the poison of the cobra.
A marble shrine with an image of Yogiji Maharaj was erected as the Yoga Smriti Mandir. This is the place where the life of Yogiji is depicted in the form of an exhibition and his personal items are preserved.
Other attractions in Gondal
Bird watching is a special attraction in the gardens of the Riverside palace and orchard. The lakes of Gondal are attractions for migratory birds like ducks, geese and pelicans.
Textiles and Handicrafts Gondal is the main centre of Gujarat of embroidery, bead work, spinning, woodcarving and block printing.
Bhuvaneshwari Gaushala and Ashwapalakis a famous stud farmfor breeding and promoting Gir cattle and Kathiawadi horse.
How to Reach there
The town of Gondal is well connected by road rail and air to all other towns.
Gondal by Train
The Gondal railway station is between Rajkot and Veraval. The nearest big railway station is Rajkot and buses are available for Gondal on regular basis.
Gondal by Air
Rajkot is well connected with most major cities of India by air.Rajkot is a domestic airport having frequent flights to all major cities in India especially to the city if Mumbai.
Gondal by Road
Gondal can be reached by road from Rajkot and Ahmedabad as well. There is a regular state bus service to Gondal from these cities. There are direct Air-conditioned and non-Air-conditioned buses from Mumbai as well
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